Many people have been on my mind and heart lately and I wanted to not only tell them in person "thank you" or "i love you," but I thought they deserved a blog shout out, even if they maybe don't see this right away.
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MIL's get such a bad rap these days. (mother-in-law)
On a simple google search of the term "mother in law," 99% of the results were negative. I was pretty surprised. I mean I knew that many people speak negatively about that relationship in their lives, but doesn't anyone have anything nice to say about them?
A few weeks ago as I was working with a lady I rarely get to see or spend time with, we happened upon the topic of mothers-in-law. She shared many treasures of knowledge as she always does regarding parenting boys, girls, and on being both a daughter-in-law as well as a mother-in-law.
Here's what I took from that conversation:
* The MIL/DIL relationship is a fragile one - No matter how hard each of them try to be great.
* Many times MIL/DIL miscommunicate on things and those little things turn into big things.
* MIL/DIL have different styles, like different things, and do almost everything a bit different than the other.
* It's usually hard for your spouse (their son) to understand how delicate some of those miscommunications are for the both of you.
* Being the mom of a boy is an important role, so you should take time to teach your son now some of the things that were important to you as a DIL.
* It's important to find the humor in all situations.
* No matter how hard you try as a DIL/MIL, you're usually still going to feel they "don't like you" at some point or another.
* Despite all of the above, you both love and adore the man that has become your common denominator.
My shout out here goes to:
1. My MIL - she recently spent 2 weeks with us helping while I went back to work. We cannot express our thanks enough for that care, time and the goodies she brought. She's a jewel and I'm so luck to call her my MIL. THANK YOU!
2. My ex-MIL. Yep, you read that right. She is a wonderful grandmother to the girls. They've been able to spend the past 2 weekends with her and I would never not let them go, as I know they are all making great memories with each other.
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It happens every summer, but I seem to always get homesick. Oddly enough, my parents don't live in my hometown anymore, but I will always consider that place home. Even if the place and people have forgotten me, I will always have a continual pulling to go visit and experience all the good things that I remember about it.
I have a handful of friends still there or from there that I consider true, real, longtime friends. You know, the ones who even over time you can sit with and talk and it's like there was never a great distance between the two of you or that 15 years have gone by.
Not all small towns are created equal, as I've found out. I may be biased, but I think my small town is the best.
Today I talked to one of those friends and discussed a possible visit in the next few months.
This kudos is to all of my hometown peeps. You know who you are - I love you and love that even after such a long time, we are still part of each other's lives.
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I love hard working, real, forgiving people. I think it's because I grew up with many people of that type. It's probably also because my dad (not a college graduate) was so successful, had a great group of friends, a very honest to goodness work ethic, and taught us that being a hard worker and being down to earth went a long way in life.
This week I've come across a few of those types of people. They always warm my heart and I enjoy conversing with them because you always know what you see is what you get. There's no other motives. There's no "fair weathered-ness" with them. They aren't trying to use you to get ahead. They don't pretend to be perfect, they don't pretend to have perfect families, they aren't afraid for you to know the "real" parts of their life.
So my next shout-out is to those great people. Because let's face it - the simple and real parts of life are sooooo refreshing.
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This last shout out goes to a few people. These people have given great advice, lived humbly, and were not accidents in my life, I'm sure.
1. My long time friend, S. Though I do not see her often, she still is teaching me so much about being professional. She's a mentor, for sure, and I know that I am where I am, in part, because of all I learned from her.
2. My friend, K. She doesn't know that our week long visit was a "God thing" but like always, I take so many treasures of knowledge after talking with her. She will even talk with me about healthy food options! :)
3. My DDC peeps. These ladies rock! They offer tons of advice, support, and humor! I'm so glad I "ran" into them! :)
And here's a shout out for YOU, if you made it through all of that reading! :)
I enjoyed reading your blog as always...love you all,.
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